


Love Letter

by GenKay



Category: Cobra Kai (Web Series)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Comedy, Gen, Injury Recovery, Light Angst, POV First Person
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-12
Updated: 2020-06-14
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:27:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 4,652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24677674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GenKay/pseuds/GenKay
Summary: Miguel’s therapist told him to keep a journal during his recovery to vent any feelings. And boy, does he have feelings to vent. Especially about a certain someone.Miguel POV. Drabble length journal excerpts post season 2
Comments: 13
Kudos: 43





	1. Chapter 1

I _hate_ Robby Keene.

I fucking hate Robby fucking Keene with every fiber of my being.

The guy is an asshole – a slimy, manipulative asshole who has wormed his way into every part of my life with the sole purpose of making me miserable. He wants to drive me crazy – I know it. He wants to drive me insane until I blow my brains out. I won’t let him. I’ll show him what I’m made of. But that is what he wants.

Oh, he’s clever all right. He’s got _everybody_ fooled with his guilty looks and his sad eyes. Even mom. But I see him. He’s like a completely different person when we are alone.

He made all the right noises when he came back and moved in with Sensei. He said everything he needed to to win mom and yaya over – how sorry he was, how he didn’t mean to do that, how he’d do anything to take it back, to make it right, how he was there to help if they needed anything – anything at all. He gave them that guilty puppy look and they just lapped it up. Why are women so gullible?

Well, to be fair, he almost had me too. Almost.

I mean, I did want to forgive the guy. I still don’t remember much from the fight, but I do remember attacking him first. I thought he was attacking my girlfriend – so what else was I supposed to do?

But people were right. I can see that now. Faults on both sides. Provocations. Escalating conflict. Yada, yada, yada…. But yeah, it was time to put things behind us and focus on getting better. And I want to do that. I really, really do. I want to believe that he is really sorry. I want to forgive him and move on. But the asshole just won’t let me. He’s still out to get me – except this time, he’s doing it in a way that won’t get him in trouble.

Well, it was my fault, really. My dumb idea. I wanted to tell him to just fuck off and never come back again. But then I thought how funny it’d be to kind of use him as my slave. Torture _him_ for a change. Sounds smart on paper, right?

Well, I gave him an inch and he took the whole fucking mile. And now he’s over here all the fucking time, driving me insane.

He does this thing where he puts my favorite snacks on the high shelf. He knows I still have trouble standing up and reaching that high. He does that shit on purpose. I can see it every time – how he just sits up straight and stiff when I’m forced to get that. I know he’s just holding back a laugh. I know it.

And when I ask him to find something, like a book or the remote, he can never find it – even though it’s always _right fucking there._ He just annoys me, acting dumb and looking for them all over until I just get up and get it myself.

And all that teasing. Doesn’t he know you are not supposed to make fun of cripples?

Like this time when he snidely suggested to mom that they get me Velcro shoes because I was having difficulty tying my laces. “I’m sure they make them for boys his age too”, he said. That made me so angry that I haven’t let my mom tie my laces since then. It takes me minutes to do what I used to do in seconds, but I fucking do it myself, just to shove it in his face.

He pisses me off in all the other ways too. He’s always talking about karate, about this cool new move he learned or this kick he managed to do. He acts like he is trying to inspire me – atleast, that’s what he tells my mom – but I know the truth. When he pulls me to my feet, stretching my body to show me the motion, he’s not trying to be nice – he’s rubbing my face in the fact that I can’t do that anymore.

How is that fair? He’s the one who did this to me. He’s the reason why I can’t practice anymore. Why does he get to shove my face in that?

I’ll show him one day. I’m working hard at my PT and my therapist says I’m progressing fast. I’ll be back to normal soon and then I’ll show Robby fucking Keene how to do that fucking move right.

He’s always talking about kicking my ass when I get better, but I’ve kicked his ass twice and he has a third time coming to him. And i can't wait to hand his ass to him again. 


	2. Chapter 2

I wanted to get rid of him. Within a week, I knew I wouldn’t be able to take much more of him. I told mom I didn’t want him coming around anymore - but she wouldn’t hear of it.

“He’s just trying to help.” She told me. “And you might be step-brothers someday. So you should learn to get along.”

That was a real kick in the balls. I was actually happy at the thought of mom dating Sensei Lawrence. He is such a great guy and he is almost like a dad to me already. I was so excited when I found out that they were dating. Until mom reminded me what it meant for me and Keene.

Having him for a brother would be the absolute worst. Having to see him every Thanksgiving and Christmas and all the family holidays? Absolute worst. Especially with how he sucks up to everybody.

Yeah, Keene is a total suck-up. That’s the secret to his success. How he wins everybody over. He’s a conman – he told me that himself – and that’s what they do. Find out what you like and use that to suck up to you.

With Sensei, it makes sense. Sensei feels guilty about not being there for him – so ofcourse Keene is going to use that. I even get my mom. She always tries to see the best in people, she always tries to be the bigger person and move on – so ofcourse Keene was going to use that too.

But Yaya? I thought atleast she’d be on my side. She always used to be.

But Keene wormed his way in there too.

He’s always helping around the house, doing stuff that _I_ used to do, but can’t any more because of _him_. Like helping Yaya shop for groceries or take out the trash or do little chores or help her cook. Well, okay, I can do some stuff now, but the asshole won’t let me. He always jumps up first, telling me he’s got it and I should just relax. It’d be a lot more believable if he wasn’t being such an obvious brown-noser.

And the cooking – I fucking hate him for that. Mom and Yaya always used to chase _me_ out of the kitchen whenever I tried to help. Always told _me_ that my helping wasn’t helpful. How is it my fault that salt looks like sugar and they keep it in similar containers? How am I supposed to know the difference between a teaspoon of spices and a tablespoon? And sure, I used to be a clumsy kid but it wasn’t like I actually cut my finger off. And the roast just smoked a little – not like it actually caught on fire. And mom was in mood for take-out that day anyway. It was the thought that counted, right?

But not where Robby fucking Keene is concerned. He is a natural, apparently. Always coming up with ideas about how _our_ spices can improve other dishes. Or about this exotic Japanese stuff Mr. LaRusso taught him how to make. Pasta is pasta – you want to improve it, put more cheese in it. No need to get fancy with it. And it wasn’t _that_ much better. Mom didn’t need to make a whole song and dance about it. 

And what’s with the sudden interest in learning Spanish? Since when did Keene care about learning how to communicate better with Yaya? Sure, it’s funny watching him stumble over words and tense – but that’s just another way he is sucking up to _my_ grandmother.

“He used to be a drug-dealer.” I told Yaya yesterday. I was so sure that would get her back on my side.

“I know.” She replied. “He knows where to score quality weed.”

What. The. Hell? He’s getting my grandma into drugs now? Does the guy have no shame at all?


	3. Chapter 3

Somehow, he has got them ALL fooled. Including Sam. Even after what she saw him do. She didn’t use to come over much – not after I kind of lashed out at her for defending Robby. I’m not proud of it – I was still stuck on the bed back then and I got frustrated and angry sometimes. But she’d stopped coming over as much and that was okay for a while because Tory was around a lot too and they’d always snipe at each-other. I was always worried about another fight breaking out between them – but thankfully that didn’t happen.

But Robby chased Tory away too. He’s the reason she broke up with me. Just because I told her not to pick fights with him. I was trying to protect her – couldn’t she see that? Hadn’t Robby already proven how dangerous he was? But Tory thought that was pussy talk and ended things just like that.

Ofcourse, Robby just loved that. He always loved ruining my relationships. Said I was better off without that pycho bitch. And mom took _his_ side! Told me that she was a bad influence. Like either of them knew a damn thing about her.

And now Robby is inviting Sam over all the time. And ofcourse she comes – she still has feelings for him after all. She wants to spend more time with him. She wants to get back with him, instead of me.

“We are just friends now.” Robby told me when I asked if they were dating again.

Bullshit. Like I’m falling for that again. I know what “just friends” means. I know that is how he worked his way into Sam’s heart the first time. And he’s doing it again.

And I know he’s trash-talking me to Sam. They are always off whispering to each-other and the way Sam keeps looking at me and smiling, I know they are talking about me. Oh, I know he won’t say anything bad outright. He’s smarter than that. But I know how he plays the game now. It’d be all snide, condescending comments to make himself look good.

“Poor Miguel. He’ll probably never walk right again.”

“Poor thing. He can’t get around without me, you know?”

“I’m sure he’ll find a girlfriend someday. There are desperate girls out there who’d even go for him. But you don’t need to pity-date him.”

That’s the kind of stuff he is saying to her. I know it.

He won’t make a move on Sam. Not yet. He’ll let me fall for her again and then snatch her from right under my nose. That’s what he did the last time. But I’m not falling for it. Not again.


	4. Chapter 4

It’s gaslighting. That’s what it is. Some kind of sick, fucked up mind-game. I read about it, looked it up. Abusers do this kind of shit – like isolating you from people who care about you so they are the only ones you can rely on.

That’s what he’s doing with the rest of my friends. Like Hawk and Tory and Mitch and Stingray and others. Mom doesn’t see it, ofcourse and neither does Sensei – all because they decided to join Kreese.

Sure, that was messed up of them. It was misguided. But they thought they were doing it for me. They’ll come back to their senses soon enough. But in the meantime, they are still my friends and I want them around. Robby had no right to chase them away like that.

Hawk hadn’t actually meant anything by it – that time he found me in the park with three other guys. Hawk just talks big. That’s his thing. He’d never actually hurt me. I’m his best friend. He left Sensei Lawrence for me. And I'm a thousand percent certain that he'd never lay a finger on me, no matter what he ends up saying.

Robby had no right to react like that. None at all. All that growling and spitting like a rabid guard dog? He scared my friends away and now Hawk can’t even talk to me without fumbling over his words.

And I can’t even get rid of that asshole now. Sure I can spend time with my Cobra Kai friends whenever I want and we do talk about stuff. I try to convince them to go back to Sensei Lawrence and they try to convince me to join Sensei Kreese when I’m better. We never get anywhere – but that’s okay. Friends can disagree with each-other. There is no reason for Robby to just hang around, glaring at them and making them nervous.

He doesn’t act like that with my other friends. Not with Aisha or Moon or Bert or Tim. But I’m sure he’ll find some way to get rid of them too.


	5. Chapter 5

I wish I could just tell the asshole to fuck off. I really do. But I need _someone_ to help me with stuff and he’s always fucking there.

Mom’s busy with work. She can’t chaperone me around all the time. And Yaya doesn’t have a driver’s license. Sensei helps when he can, but even he can’t always be available. And there are like a thousand little things I need help with. So when Robby-asshole-Keene tells them he has got it, they just let him and I can’t do anything about it.

It’s humiliating, really, having to rely on him like that.

It’s bad enough that he has to drive me everywhere – to my therapist, to PT, to doctor’s appointments, to the pharmacy, to go shopping. And when we are out in public, he always pretends to be so helpful. Always asking me if I need help or if I need to sit down. One might almost believe that he was being genuine, if not for the fact that he’s not actually very helpful. Like how he never helps me out of the car. Or like how he always hovers but never actually supports me.

It’s all pretense and fuck him for that. I don’t need his help with that stuff anyways. But there is stuff I did need help with – and sometimes still do. Personal, humiliating stuff.

Like back when I was still on a wheelchair and spilled food on myself when we were home alone – I couldn’t get myself clean, so he had to strip me off and wipe me down with a washcloth.

Or all those times I was on crutches. Having to use a handicap stall was bad enough – but needing him to unzip and zip me up every time? That was fucking embarrassing.

Or that time I was too tired after PT to even walk back from the parking lot to the door and he had to carry me. He was just showing off how strong he was.

Even now, I get tired too easily. Sometimes, even simple things like buttoning my shirt or putting on my belt end up frustrating me. It always comes out of nowhere – one moment, I’m fine and the next, my hands just stop working, making me fumble and scream in anger.

And that asshole is always there, doing it for me without even being asked. He enjoys it – enjoys my humiliation. Sure, he acts like he doesn’t. He always maintains a respectful silence and looks away and pretends like it’s no big deal. But he is laughing at me on the inside. I know it. I just know it.


	6. Chapter 6

Why the hell does he like torturing me so much? What did I ever do to him? It can’t all be about the tournament, can it? 

And why the hell do I keep letting him get inside my head? Even with things where _I_ should have the upper hand?

Like schoolwork.

Mom started hassling me about getting back to studies even when I was in a wheelchair. Can’t let my grades slip, she said. That was total bullshit. I had more than enough shit to deal with without adding homework to the list. But she just wouldn’t let it go. We had some epic shouting matches over that.

But I stuck to my guns and I’m proud of that. No matter how much my mom or Sensei begged, pleaded or cajoled, I wouldn’t budge. School can wait until I am back on my feet again.

But then Sensei asked me to tutor Robby because he had a lot of stuff to catch up on and he needed help. I should’ve told him to fuck right off – but then I had another one of my brilliant ideas.

Robby was a dropout, right? Which meant he was dumb. Finally, this was something I was still better at. Something I could rub his face in. I never should’ve agreed, but I thought it might make me feel better because it'd make him feel worse – so I did.

Well, he _is_ dumb. Really dumb. So dumb that sometimes, I think that he is faking it. No one can be that dumb, right?

Like he’s always getting the questions wrong. It gets me so annoyed that I end up having to solve things to show him how it’s done.

Or like how he comes up with these stupid questions I don’t know the answers to. I end up spending hours looking them up, figuring them out and by the time I come back with answers, he has forgotten than he’d even asked them.

And he’s always coming up with these stupid contests – like who can write a better essay or who can finish the practice test faster or who gets more right answers. I win, ofcourse. I always win. And I’m always gonna win. I wish he’d just learn that and stop trying to challenge me already. But then, if he was smart enough to learn stuff, he wouldn’t have dropped out in the first place.

The frustrating thing though was finding out that he was better than me at some subjects. Like history and geography. It wasn’t such a big deal, really. I was always more of a math and science and computers guy. Can’t be good at all of them and I was cool with it.

But he just had to taunt me about it, didn’t he? Had to rub my face in the fact that there was one thing he was better at – even though he is a loser at everything else. I couldn’t let that go. I crammed for two days straight and then _I_ challenged _him_.

And I won. God-fucking-dammit, I won. I scored more than him in both practice tests.

Not that it mattered. Somehow, he turned that around on me. Grinned like an idiot, pretending that he didn’t care about winning. I know it has to be killing him on the inside, knowing how much smarter I am than him, but he is so good at hiding that I can’t even enjoy it properly.

He’s always smiling like he knows something that I don’t.

Okay, I’m not stupid, alright. I know when someone is trying to play me. I see right through him. He wants to use me to be me. He wants to be good at karate and studies so that both Sensei and my mom will like him better. He wants to have what I had - and will have soon. And my mom encourages it because she thinks it’ll light a fire under me – convince me to start taking school seriously again.

But I’m not falling for that. I’m just indulging Robby because I know he is too dumb to actually be any good at it. But I’m still sticking to my guns. I won’t focus on school again until I’m well enough to get back to karate and that’s that. Mom will just have to get used to that.


	7. Chapter 7

Okay, so maybe I shouldn’t have lost it on the guy today. But he is just so infuriating. And even I have my limits. And I’ve been holding it together so well until now.

Well, okay, not always. I used to complain about him to mom and Sensei plenty – until I figured out that he already had them wrapped around his little finger. They are never going to see truth unless I actually make him show his true colors and I know how to do that. Or atleast, I thought I did.

I mean, I did during the school fight, right? Talking about Sensei or Sam – that should’ve made him mad. Shown everyone that he wasn’t really sorry. But I guess he is smarter than that now. He always fakes this hurt puppy look and I always end up feeling bad about it, even though I know he is faking it. You know how I know he is faking? Because it’s gone a moment later and he is smiling like it doesn’t matter.

And sure, I’ve yelled at him plenty of times, pushed him, even punched him. But that condescending ass acted like it never even happened. This one time, I actually tried to fight him – I know, pretty dumb right? I was still on crutches back then. Figured I just needed one clean hit. But the asshole just grabbed me from behind and kept me there.

That was the most shameful thing I've ever experienced. Worse than when Kyler and his goons beat the shit out of me. This asshole was rubbing my face in how utterly weak and pathetic I’d become. How weak and pathetic he’d made me. He wouldn’t hit me and he wouldn’t let me hit him either. I tried to headbutt him but I couldn’t. I tried to kick out, to break free, but I was too weak. I’ve never been so pissed off in my life or so humiliated.

I broke down back then – started screaming and crying like a helpless child throwing a tantrum. And the asshole just held me like that until I was done, enjoying my humiliation. He kept saying he was sorry, but what the fuck does that mean? If he was really sorry, he’d have just let me beat the shit out of him, instead of shoving my face in how I couldn’t do that anymore.

Well, I decided to keep better control of my emotions after that. He is already messing with my head enough – can’t go around giving him even more chances to do that. And I did, until today.

He’s just so good at getting in your head, you know? Sometimes even I forget that he’s just faking it. Like today, when he asked me about dating, for a moment I actually thought that he was genuinely interested. That he’d be fine if I went out with Sam. But then I remembered who and what he was and I just got pissed off. I was more pissed off with myself, actually – for letting myself get conned like others, even for a moment.

I punched him after that, right in the face. And ofcourse he tried to play me, asked me "what’s wrong?" – like he didn’t know already.

So I let him have it – about everything. Shoved his face in all the reasons why he was the loser here. Like Sensei loving me more. And Sam just using him to make me jealous. And how the fact that his mom not caring about him didn’t mean he could take mine. And how he was a dumbass who’d never amount to anything. I told him how he wasn't fooling anybody - even though he is. I told him that everyone was just getting some use out of him - that we all just laugh at him after - and that he'll be back out on the streets when we are done.

He faked that hangdog look again, but I wasn’t buying it. I just had to beat it out of him. And I did. I pounded him into the ground. Pounded him until his face was a bloody pulp. I kicked his ass. It’s still an ass-kicking even if the other guy doesn’t fight back, right?

Okay, so maybe I went too far. He deserved it, sure, but I still felt guilty when I saw him all bruised and swollen. And I was really ashamed when he got up and got two icepacks – one for his face and the other for my knuckles.

But then he just had to go ahead and prove me right. Show me that I actually didn’t go far enough. Mom came back after a bit and saw us sitting there like that. And ofcourse she freaked out. And ofcourse, Keene used this to milk every little bit of sympathy out of her.

Oh, he was smart about it too. Real evil genius. Said it was no big deal – that we were just roughhousing and it was an accident. Like mom was stupid enough to buy that. Ofcourse, he knew she wasn’t – he was just trying to make himself look good and make me look bad. She was all over _him_ with the first-aid kit and ignoring _me_ except for glaring angrily. And then he made her tell Sensei, using some reverse psychology shit. He told her not to tell him, so ofcourse she just had to. Don’t think I’ve ever seen Sensei look so disappointed in me.

Robby was smirking on the inside. I know it. And he’d have smirked and winked at me too, if Mom and Sensei hadn’t been watching. So instead, he just mouthed “I’m sorry” at me.

And so now, I’m grounded. Stuck in the house, except for school and doctor’s and PT. And none of my friends can come over either – except for Robby. When the fuck did he become my friend? And for how long? Dunno – mom says until my behavior improves. Right – like I’m the asshole who goes around almost killing people.

But I know his game now and I know how it’s played. He thinks he can fuck with me? Guess what, I can fuck with him too. Two can play at this.

I’m counting the asskicking I gave him today as the third one he had coming. And now, I’m gonna _out-nice_ him. I’ll apologize for today. I’ll go around saying “please” and “thank-you” to him. I’ll tell him how good he is being to me and how much I appreciate all his help. I’ll tell him how good he’s at cooking and how much I’m loving the food nowadays. (Well, that won’t be a complete lie.) I’ll tell him how much better he is doing at his studies and how he’ll be better than me in no time. He won’t – but let the dumbass believe it.

I’ll even tell him that he can go ahead and ask Sam out. He only wants her to get at me – so if he thinks I’m not interested, then he’ll lose interest. And _then_ I’ll ask her out, if I still feel like it. I’ll figure that out later.

This is where _I_ start messing with _him_. Acting like he is my new best friend. That’ll just fuck with his head so bad. I just can’t wait to see the look on his face – when he gets all flustered and confused and doesn’t know what’s happening. That will be the perfect revenge.

Just you wait, Robby Keene. I’m coming for you.


End file.
